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BERNARDS TWP. – Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, emerged from the Grain House restaurant at about 1:30 p.m, hopped into an SUV and was off; his fundraising duties for Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr. apparently complete.
Johnson, who is next in line to the presidency after the vice president, certainly seems like the type of guy who can draw a crowd – and help raise campaign cash. That’s a plus for any candidate.
The minus is that by any calculus, Johnson’s evangelical-infused conservatism may be out of step with the diverse CD-7, which ranges from Rahway in Union County to the Delaware River.
While Republicans hold a slight registration advantage in the district, it clearly is the most competitive in the state.
The fundraiser reportedly was originally scheduled for Springfield, prompting an opposition rally by Democrats and liberal groups in a township park.
The main speaker was Sue Altman, the presumptive Democratic candidate against Kean.
She referenced what likely is going to be a constant theme this fall.
Altman said of Kean:
“You get to go to Congress – the honor of a lifetime. … And yet, you go to Washington and you never come out of your little hiding hole. You never come to meet your constituents.”
On one hand, this is political rhetoric.
Yet, it is also true that dating back to the 2022 campaign, Kean has avoided most interviews with the press and public interactions of just about any kind.
His office has not yet responded to a request for comment on the Speaker’s visit.
Kean’s public behavior – or lack thereof – did not hurt him two years ago when he ousted Tom Malinowski.
Altman thinks, or hopes, this year will be different.
“He’s afraid. He’s cowardly,” she said. “And that means we can beat him.”
Other speakers struck a similar theme, accusing Kean of supporting a “MAGA-agenda” that is anti-women, anti-gay and against the interests of working people.
Antoinette Miles, the State Director for the New Jersey Working Families Party, one of the organizers of the rally, said of the Speaker:
“MAGA-Mike, go back to D.C.”
No, someone shouted back – send him back to Louisiana.
Another speaker to a crowd of about 100 was Christian Estevez, the state legislative and political director for CWA. He said it’s the union’s core mission to fight for people to keep their jobs.
But in this case, he’s going to work for Kean to lose his job.
One of the biggest issues in Washington today is the refusal of Speaker Johnson to post a bill granting military aid to Ukraine. It recently passed the Senate with Republican support.
So it probably was no surprise that a handful of people at today’s rally arrived waving Ukrainian flags.
Kean, in past public comments, has said he supports Ukraine.
Speaking to Morris County Republicans last March, he said Ukraine is of “vital interest” to the United States and that the country needs to get the “weaponry to get the job done.”
That was a strong statement, but it also was nearly a year ago.
It makes you wonder what, if anything, Kean said to the Speaker today over lunch about aiding Ukraine.
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